Responsible sourcing is a major issue in the mining and minerals sector. As a result, seven major mining companies are partnering with the World Economic Forum for the ‘Mining and Metals Blockchain Initiative’ to track their supply chains with blockchain technology.
The true virtue of this initiative is the fact that it’s inherently unselfish: all the members will “pool resources and cost, increase speed-to-market and improve industry-wide trust that cannot be achieved by acting individually.” This will help have a long-term influence on industry, on transparency and on responsible and ethical sourcing.
Who’s involved?
The seven companies are made up of Antofagasta Minerals, Eurasian Resources Group Sàrl, Glencore, Klöckner & Co, Minsur SA, Tata Steel Limited and Anglo American/De Beers (Tracr).
“The distributed nature of blockchain technology makes it the ultimate networked technology,” Nadia Hewett, Blockchain Project Lead, says in the press release. “Forward-thinking organizations are starting to understand the disruptive potential of blockchain to solve pain points, but are now also recognizing that industry-wide collaboration around blockchain is necessary.”
The companies will come together to find a decentralized, comprehensive solution for poor responsibility in supply chains. It shows an impressive initiative from major players (De Beers already has its own blockchain platform Tracr) to move towards a more sustainable future.
What about other blockchain platforms for supply chains?
There are a myriad of solutions out there. Everledger has one for diamonds and various other commodities. At Blockhead, we have STAMP Supply, which traces provenance in supply chains. Does this mean that only one platform will succeed?
Actually, no – as we’ve said before, the secret to blockchain’s success is collaboration. No industry is without competition, and to some degree this is healthy. However, when it comes to governance and sustainability, teamwork is the best method to create a better world.
Blockchain collaboration will decide the future of the technology’s success. Instead of siloing ourselves from others, we should work together to ensure an effective, sustainable and more prosperous blockchain sector.
Interested in finding out more about STAMP Supply? Head over here or you can contact us for a demo here.